Horn of Blasting broken?

[Stalker0]

...I would have to roll 12 natural 1's on all 12 Fort saves for all 12 uses of the horn for any of my items to be damaged whatsoever.


Still looks wrong to me, but as long as everyone understands how it works, its fine with me.


It was the bold numbers that threw you off, wasn't it?

I like preety colors

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I know...I'm lazy.

Really? I'm lazy, too. I once wanted to do something against it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it

 

[Elric]

Yes, Horn of Blasting is broken. What else could you really expect from a cheap item that stuns with no save allowed? It's been that way for quite a while...

Stunned enemies even drop their weapons, so a single blast can easily change the course of battle. This assumes that your enemies are alive after your round of free attacks...

 

[kreynolds]

Stunned enemies even drop their weapons, so a single blast can easily change the course of battle.

That's no worse than a Finger of Death spell cast in combat. That'll shift the odds in a fight too, usually unpredictably, and the Horn of Blasting is very risky to use if you use it more than once in a day. I don' think one round of stunning, once a day, is that bad.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Here's the trick.

Assuming that a human can dig a 1 foot cubed hole in 15 minutes, then you can use the Lyre of Building to dig a 10x10 ft. hole under the victim in one round. If a human can dig faster than the example, then you could bury them in the same round. I'd give a Reflex save, DC against Fabricate, to let the victim save themsel. I don't think it's really broken, but I would increase the cost because of it's combat application.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

That'll shift the odds in a fight too, usually unpredictably,

Yes. How often did that one action spell that takes less than 6 seconds to cast (and not much more than that to determine it's succes for the DM) waste 30 minutes worth of character generation by the DM? (Although if it happens to often, the DM might manipulate the outcome to save his favorites )

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

That's no worse than a Finger of Death spell cast in combat. That'll shift the odds in a fight too, usually unpredictably, and the Horn of Blasting is very risky to use if you use it more than once in a day. I don' think one round of stunning, once a day, is that bad.

At the level you will see Finger of Death in combat regularly, I don't see why you couldn't just have multiple Horns in the party. These things are cheap! 2 consecutive rounds of stunning is a guaranteed victory at higher levels.

A good thought experiment for any magic item is whether having multiples in the party would cause significant problems. I would not automatically veto any item that fails this test, but it is a sure sign you need to be very careful.

The only real problem with the Horn is that it is horrifically underpriced. A large AoE autostun is equivalent to a roughly a 7th level spell. It needs to be priced accordingly.

 

[kreynolds]

At the level you will see Finger of Death in combat regularly, I don't see why you couldn't just have multiple Horns in the party. These things are cheap!

A agree. I got an idea, get a big ol' fat wagon wheel, tie a dozen or so horns of blasting onto the spokes, and roll the damn thing by your side, right into combat, blowing the whole way. It's like a Horn of Blasting Chaingun...or something.

The only real problem with the Horn is that it is horrifically underpriced. A large AoE autostun is equivalent to a roughly a 7th level spell. It needs to be priced accordingly.

I'm not sure about that. One would think that a 7th level stun spell, even if it is AoE, would most certainly have a duration longer than one or two rounds. Also, remember that its getting a hefty discount because of the dangers in using it too often.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I'm not sure about that. One would think that a 7th level stun spell, even if it is AoE, would most certainly have a duration longer than one or two rounds. Also, remember that its getting a hefty discount because of the dangers in using it too often.

Power Word, Stun is a 7th level spell that affects a single target for 1d4 rounds or more, plus it has a 150 HP limitation. A spell that has a large AoE, no HP limitation, and stuns for 1 (or 2) rounds should be at least 7th level, conceivably even 8th.

If you were a high level wizard, which spell would you choose for a 7th level slot, Power Word, Stun or Power Word, Horn of Blasting? I would choose the Horn effect because it is more of a sure thing, even if I will have to be careful about catching friendlies. IMO, PWHoB would make a reasonable 8th level spell, albeit a slightly weak one.

An item that produces a 7th level spell effect once per day is nominally worth 7 x 13 x 2000 x 1/5 = 36400 gp. The fact this item can be used many times per day in a pinch certainly would boost its value. I would price the Horn of Blasting at 45000 gp, making it a reasonable prized possession of a 13th level character. At that level you will see enough Finger of Death spells that it won't seem all that remarkable.

 

[kreynolds]

Power Word, Stun is a 7th level spell...

Ooo. That's a good point.

If you were a high level wizard, which spell would you choose for a 7th level slot, Power Word, Stun or Power Word, Horn of Blasting?

Well, obviously, I would take Power Word, Stun, since a spell such as Power Word, Horn of Blasting is quite impossible due to the fact that it's more than just one power-word.

Seriously, I get your point though. But, I'm inclined to point out again that if the price is indeed correct, then I believe the intent of the item is that it does not affect attended or carried items, at least no more so than a fireball would on any roll but a 1, which is to say "Not at all". That's just my opinion, of course.